Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Sound Income Strategies LLC

Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) by 30.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,896 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,363 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $654,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 3,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $428,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Cortland Associates Inc. MO grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% during the third quarter. Cortland Associates Inc. MO now owns 6,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Family Management Corp raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Family Management Corp now owns 3,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $907,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.89% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $104.10 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.63 and a 1 year high of $115.49. The firm has a market cap of $264.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $108.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 43.47% and a net margin of 24.49%. The business had revenue of $13.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.14%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total value of $462,453.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,159,575. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph Romanelli sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.22, for a total transaction of $541,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 20,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,195,134.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total value of $462,453.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,900 shares in the company, valued at $4,159,575. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 100,245 shares of company stock valued at $11,168,256 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $123.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 9th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho restated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.